Patience, it's almost time for tomatoes | In Your Patch

It’s an age-old question that seems to pop up at this time every year – when should I plant tomato seedlings?

I’ve heard a few gardeners recently discuss getting a jump on spring by starting seed trays as early as June, but for me, September is the perfect month to get them going in our region.

The mistake is assuming the warmer days and more light hours are enough to get your seeds germinating and growing.

False.

It’s the soil – continual and consistent temperatures need to be reached – before your spring and summer crop seeds will germinate.

By all means start early if you’ve got access to a hot house or a heat pad, but for the rest of us, it’s a matter of being patient.

Seeds to start in a warm spot indoors, in a hothouse, or in a poor man’s hothouse (clear plastic crate turned upside down) include tomato, beans, zucchini, sunflowers, corn, cucumber, most chili varieties (although some do better in the later months, like Bishop’s Crown), all melons, and all squash excluding pumpkins, for those I wait until October.

Tromboncino can be germinated now too.

Sweet potato slips can also be rooted in jars of water kept on a windowsill.

You can make a good soil raising mix by combining one part sand to one part sifted compost, to one part potting mix.

Make sure there are no large particles of anything – woodchip, sticks, rocks, any vegetative matter – as these can block growth of smaller seeds.

Plant seeds as deep as they are long, so lettuce for example, can be sprinkled on top and covered with the lightest sifting of soil atop, while sunflowers can be sown in small holes made with your pinky or a dibbler (a stick will do) about 5mm deep, and then completely covered.

Keep moist and warm and you’ll have seedlings ready for planting as we move into October.

It’s time to harvest many rhizomes including ginger and turmeric.

We managed another excellent harvest of turmeric this season, but another poor harvest of ginger.

Never mind, we’ll keep trying.

The yacon performed well, as did water chestnuts.

I also use September to locate specific beds for planting my tomatoes.

May I suggest you avoid growing tomatoes in the same spot as the previous year.

As tempting as that may be given self- seeders, pull them out.

Yes. All of them.

Tomatoes will always give better yields and be more resistant to pests and diseases in new ground.

I’ll be harvesting my broad beans in September and then prepping that space, ready for tomatoes to be planted into that bed come October.

And this year I’ll also be experimenting with cherry tomatoes that I’m going to try trellising up the large wire arch outside the chicken coop in the school garden.

I’m unsure how successful it may be but I love experimenting with the kids at school to see what works and what doesn’t – there’s always opportunities to learn in the garden!

I’ll leave you with our 2023 Turmeric harvest, our most successful to date.

The original pieces were sourced from Morell’s in Carnarvon almost five years ago, and have given us a great crop every year since.

A limited number will be potted up for sale available to the public early next year.

Follow us on socials @mrpskitchengarden if you’d like to be one of the lucky few to secure one.